5 dead in small plane crash in California

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. BAKERSFIELD, Calif (KSNV News3LV) – A seven-seat Piper aircraft headed from San Jose, Calif., to Henderson crashed in an almond orchard southwest of Bakersfield about 4:30 p.m. — Five bodies were recovered from the wreckage of a small plane Sunday, a day after the aircraft disappeared from radar and the crash was found in an orchard in central California, local and federal authorities said.

Saturday, about three hours after receiving an alert from the Federal Aviation Administration about a missing plane that was last detected an estimated 10 miles south of the city, sheriff’s Cmdr. Air traffic controllers lost contact with the single-engine Piper PA32 about 4 p.m. as it was flying from Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose to Henderson Executive Airport near Las Vegas, an FAA spokesman said. A meteorologist with the National Weather Service in nearby Hanford said it was rainy and cloudy in the area south of Bakersfield around the time the plane went off radar. According to the Kern County Sheriff’s Department, a mayday call came in around 4:30 p.m. from Los Angeles traffic control, believing the plane possibly crashed.